Sunday, May 31, 2009

Well this week's menu looks a little lame, I was really at a loss of putting the energy in to finding some new recipes this week. June sort of snuck up on me and I didn't have a lot of ideas already.

I am planning on having a baking day this week. I've have plenty of Bananas in the freezer just waiting to be turned into some tasty banana bread and last week's recipe swap I saw a recipe for homemade whole wheat English muffins that I can't wait to try. I also can't wait to try these cake balls. I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try them and I'm so pumped because I have a baby shower I'm helping with this coming weekend. So cake balls here I come. I'm also in love with this bread machine. If I would have known how wonderful they were I would have snagged my mom's earlier. I'm eager to try out some new recipes, if you have a favorite I'd love for you to pass it on.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

This week's grocery trip to Dillons was awesome. I was pretty pumped at the savings I managed to find. I love sales and coupons! I spent $35.47 on groceries and got 4 packages of Diapers for 18.46, minus 3.00 for my caregiver marketplace rebate that I'll submit and they were $3.87 each! AWESOME. I'm stocked up on diapers right now and hopefully by using a combination of cloth diaper and disposibles I can make it till the end of September.

***Everything in italics are items that I used coupons for and the best buys of the week are in bold.

Friday, May 29, 2009

My toddler loves birds. I'll often find him trying to run after them in the yard. At the zoo the birds are by far his favorite. He could sit forever and watch the flamingos. I decided it would be fun to try to attract a few more near the window of our dining room. It's our favorite place to sit and have a snack and he loves pointing and making bird sounds anytime he sees one.

I knew we could make the traditional peanut butter pine cone birdseed bird feeder but we don't have any pine trees in our yard, so we'd have to go hunting for pine cones. Instead I ran across a suggestion that you could use a toilet paper roll for the same thing. This was perfect because we have plenty of those.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

I would have to rank Greek food in my top 5 favorite types of foods. I love it. Now obviously this recipe for gyros is a bit different than the real deal, but since I don't have a spit fire grill it works for us and it tastes pretty yummy too.

Heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook about 5 minutes, flip patties and heat until juices run clear. Like you would a taco pita bread with a meat patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, tzatziki and close. (If you use store bought you can actually open it up an use fill the inside, but it is absolutely delish on homemade pita. After you have homemade you'll never want to buy the store bought cardboard pita bread ever again.)

After yogurt is ready, grate the cucumber or finely chop, place it in a strainer and squeeze the cucumber to release some of it’s liquid. Add to the yogurt and combine the remaining ingredients. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I love air conditioning, but I also love how low our bills have been the past couple of months without our heat or AC on. We are really trying to delay turning on our AC as long as possible and thankful for that the hot summer weather has yet to make it's appearance in Kansas yet, but it's coming.

We have plenty of experience of living without the luxury of air conditioning and yes it is a luxury. There are plenty of ways to keep cool even without turning on your AC

1. One of the easiest ways to stay cool is to minimize your heat sources in your home. During the day try to use natural light rather than reaching for the light switch. Try to spend time in rooms where the sun is not shining into. Keep these curtains closed until the sun has moved elsewhere. Sure the sun is lovely but it will heat up your room very quickly.

2. Utilize fans and outside temperatures. It goes without saying that if it is cool outside you'll want to draw this air into your home, if it is hot then you don't. If you have an attic fan these are beautiful ways to keep cool. Flip those on at night and you'll be reaching for a blanket before you know it. If you don't have an attic fan utilize your fans, you'll want all types osculating, ceiling and box fans. Place a box fan in your window to draw the air inside. When it warms up in the afternoon, why no try to close your windows. I know it may seem odd, but I promise you it works. Open your windows after it cools off a bit at dusk. In the mean time circulate the air you have to the best of your abilities.

3. Try to minimize the use of your oven and stove top. Utilize these beautiful inventions, crock pot, rice cooker (also great for steaming veggies), and a bread maker. Rather than heat up your whole house with your oven try making various crockpot meals and why not make a loaf of bread to go with it using your bread machine. (I borrowed my mom's for the summer and am very excited to still have bread this summer.) Lastly steam a pot of veggies in your rice cooker. You've got a complete meal without every having to turn your oven on. A friend of mine actually takes her crock pot to the garage so that it won't heat up her house. I just cleared a space in my laundry room and hope to follow this concept too. Whoever thought such smells would be coming from the garage or laundry room.

4. Utilize your oven before you go to bed. Since it is coolest during the night your house will have plenty of time to cool off. When we lived overseas I would often cook my meals at night and then place them in the fridge for the next day. Try making several things in one swoop and freeze them, this way you'll only need to heat the oven up once.

5. Hydrate and rehydrate. Keep a cold glass of water handy and sip your day away. These are the best days to bring out that blender and make you a nice cold smoothie, or other icy drink.

6. Dress appropriately. Obviously jeans and long sleeves are going to make you hot. It's time to bring out your shorts an summer skirts out of storage and enjoy lounging in your coolest attire.

7. When it is time to turn the AC on try turning it up a few degrees. I think the lowest we had it set last summer was 75 degrees. But utilizing some of these same tips you can keep your AC from running constantly. Utilize your programable thermostat, programing it to the lowest temperature around 2:00-5:00 in the afternoon.

There are plenty of other ways to stay cool. What's your favorite? Mine's a nice lemon snow cone! For more great tips check out WFMW's home over at We Are That Family.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day Weekend. Our family is certainly enjoying our long weekend together. I am very thankful to be raised in a country who desires to defend freedom and extremely thankful for the men and women who have given their lives for the sake of our country.

It's back to the swing of things this week in the kitchen. I'm trying to utilize my crockpot so we can delay turning on the AC another couple of weeks. We are loving our energy and gas bills being so low. It's a blessing to see how God provided a few months of low bills so that we could afford another grad class for my husband this summer. He certainly provides for our needs.

We hopefully will get to enjoy the company of my in-laws the end of this week, so I actually planned some breakfasts this week, hopefully cooking breakfast will motivate me to get out of bed and go jogging in the morning. We shall see, we shall see, the tricky part is doing so and not waking up our Toddler.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Sorry guys I've been in a sneezing haze this past week and it's zaps the life out of me. I've been a bit behind on my blog posts. Here's this week's money report. I spent a bit more than $50 but I'm stocked up on soda for a while. My sweet husband has been hanging with me until it went on sale. He was very pleased

Thursday, May 21, 2009

For mother's Day this year my husband and son gave me a gift card to Kohls. I was very excited because I just signed up to receive Kohl's newsletters via e-mail and also received a $5.00 coupon to be used on anything. I knew going in that I would have $35 to spend. I wanted to use it wisely and to purchase some nice pieces.

I saw an advertisement that you could save up to an additional 30% off your entire purchase if you used your Kohl's card. We've thankfully have never had any credit card debt and we've always passed when offered store credit cards. After seeing this type of sale multiple time the last year we decided it was worth it, since this is where we shop the most for new clothing. Since we pay for pretty much everything with cash I can just paid my balance right there at the register. If you are considering store credit cards please, please, please be very careful think about it and don't do it on a whim just to save a few bucks. Most importantly never buy anything you can't afford.

I am very excited to add these (pictured below) to my wardrobe. I went looking for a few things to wear to an upcoming interview. (Being a stay at home mom I don't have a lot of business wear anymore.) I love what I found. 1 jacket on clearance for 16.80, 1 skirt on clearance for 8.00, Black sweater on clearance for 12.00 Short sleeved shirt 8.99 on sale. After my $5 coupon and 30% off this totaled 30.35! That's about 7.59 per item.

The best time of year to find some great clearance items is shortly after the season is ending. Right now Kohl's has a ton of long sleeved shirts and pants on clearance. Since I never buy clothing at full price this is good place to find some real bargains.

Make sure you look over the pieces you plan to buy, especially things on clearance. Check all seams (especially underarm and crotch seams) & buttons. Some of these might be missing, or need some minor repairs. If this is the case ask yourself it it is worth it. I passed on a long sleeved t-shirt today that was 4.00 but the seams didn't look very cheap.

Never buy anything you don't love, just because it is cheap. If you don't love it don't buy because chances are it will sit in your closet and you've wasted money. I follow this same principle anywhere I shop whether it is a garage sale or the mall. I'd rather walk out of a store with nothing than spend $10 on a shirt I'll only wear once. Lastly try it on and make sure you love it.

Save $3 Instantly at Checkout when you buy $15 worth of Huggies Products in 1 Transaction (Limit 2 rewards per transaction) From the looks of the ad Pure and Natural diapers are not a part of this deal. I’ll scope it out today and see if they are.

Oh how I used to love these coupons. They've been hiding for a while and today and tomorrow you can utilize saving an additonal $5 on purchases of $25 or more. This is after all coupons are deducted, so you'll have to try to aim for $25 after coupons. These are great items to use for items that you will get a rebate for.

Preheat oven to 400, spray cookie sheet evenly Place rolls on sheet. Make an indention in the center of each roll. Spoon bean mixture into the center of the the roll indention. Top bean mixture with cheese and bake 12-15 minutes. Remove and cool.

Brown hamburger and drain grease, then add soup and cheese to hamburger mixture. Roll out dough and put 1 heaping T. of hamburger mixture on dough. Pinch all sides closed, place on greased cookie sheet with pinch sides down and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 or until golden brown. Brush with Melted butter when taken out of oven. (This usually makes aroudn 16 Beirocks.

I must admit it was very nice popping dinner in the oven yesterday. I was able to get most of my sewing projects cut out yesterday during my son's nap. I have a feeling this is going to be a very productive week. For more great ideas check out Works for me Wednesday.

Here's what I made during my cooking marathon:

BBQ Chicken and Rice

Chicken Chimichangas

Chili Kolaches

Sweet and Sour Pork (I had planned on making chicken but I bought a smaller chicken)

Bierocks

Taco Meat

This took me around 2 1/2 hours to complete all 6 of these meals as well as kitchen clean up. Go here to find the recipes for all of the recipes with the execption of tacos (just follow your packet's instructions.)

Some tips to making this event go well include:

Pre-chop onions/veggies needed.

Make sure you thaw your meat ahead of time.

Cook a whole chicken in the crockpot a day before your marathon and I de-boned it. Refrigerate your cooked chicken so it is ready to be added to your recipes.

Shred cheese if using block cheese ahead of time.

Start with a clean kitchen, empty sink and dishwasher. You'll have a lot of dishes to do at the end and it's much better when these are the only ones you must tackle.

Cook when you have uninterrupted time. The best times for me are evenings after little man is in bed.

Below are your Step by Step instructions of how to prepare these 6 meals in 2 1/2 hours.

1. Start your rice. I used a rice cooker but you can cook it however you wish. Here's my most recent find of how to prepare brown rice. It works beautifully and I'm so glad I came across this article.

2. Prepare your dinner Rolls. This is my favorite recipes because it requires no rising. I let my kitchen aid do all the work of kneading for me. Once you have finished kneading your dough split dough in half.

4. On a cookie sheet roll half of the dough into little balls about the size of an egg. Once you have all your dough balls ready smash them down and create a crater in the middle, using your thumbs. Pour your bean mixture into the middle of the crater. Top with cheese.

5. Bake Chili Kolaches for about 15 minutes. Be sure to set a timer!

6. Cook your ground beef. Use about 1 1/2-2 lbs. ground beef divided into two pans. In one pan season meat with taco seasoning. Cook simultaneously and drain grease when finished. Add some onion if you desire.

7. Set aside taco meat and allow to cool slightly.

8. Using the second pan of unseasoned ground beef will be used for the Beirocks. Combine this cooked beef with one can cream of chicken soup and 1 c. shredded cheese, mix together

9. Using the second half of your bread dough, again divide dough into balls about he size of a tangerine.

10. Take a dough ball and stretch it out with your hands into a flat circle. Drop a spoonful of meat mixture into the center of the dough circle. Bring the remaining dough around the meat mixture and pinch to close it.

11. Place on a greased cookie sheet seam side down. Bake for 15 minutes or until the dough turns a golden brown. As soon as it comes out of the oven spread butter on the tops. Move to cooling racks and allow time to cool.

12. To prepare your BBQ Chicken use half of your cooked chicken add desired BBQ sauce to chicken, heat briefly and then set aside to cool.

13.Take the second half of chicken 2 1/2 c. and prepare the chicken mixture of your chimichangas. Add onion, salsa and spices to mixture and stir. Add mixture to the center of a tortilla and roll it up leaving the ends open. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, with the seams on the bottom of the pan. Freeze as is. (You will need to prepare the sauce for the topping as these bake the day you eat them.

14. Cook your meat for Sweet and Sour Pork/Chicken. Add the remaining ingredients and follow recipe until finished. Allow to cool before transferring to a container to freeze it in.

15. After all food has cooled place it in bags or Tupperware and label it and add any more instructions the recipes needs. (For example the chimichangas need sauce, include the recipe.)Divide your rice into two containers. One will be for BBQ chicken and the other will be for Sweet and Sour Pork. Bag up some shredded cheese for your taco meat.

16. Once everything is added containerized, find space in your freezer, clean up your kitchen and congratulate yourself and preparing a week's worth of meals. It's time for you to relax, or at least enjoy a piece of chocolate.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Well it's another freezer week, which means I've already prepare these meals and all that's left is to heat them up. I hope it will give me more time to concentrate on sewing this week. I have a ton of fabric just calling my name.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

This week I shopped for two weeks worth of main dishes and I don't think I came out too bad, $57.44. I'm looking forward to having 2.50 off this coming week when I go at Dillons. They are running a catalina deal where if you buy 5 bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce you can get 2.50 towards your next purchase, 4 bottles 2.00 catalina, and if you are lucky enough to have 6 coupons you can get 3.00 off your next purchase. Considering these are only .08 each with the 1.00 coupon it's a great money maker and you're stocked up on BBQ sauce for the summer.

You'll have to bear with me, allergy season has struck hard and I'm a little fuzzy so I'm only going to post my great deals for the week. Here's where I shopped this week:

Friday, May 15, 2009

I have only purchased a few toys for my son brand new. The rest have come from garage sales, Craig's list or given to him as gifts. But I'll be honest his favorite toys aren't 'toys' or they are things I've made. You don't even have be crafty at all to make a few toys. Below are a few of our favorite "non toys" around our parts.

Kitchen pots and pans

When I'm cooking I'll give my toddler a spoon, whisk, measuring cups or whatever I'm not using and let him play around in old pots and pans. He loves being able to cook and he'll often come over and offer me a taste of something. If I'm really feeling adventurous I'll add a bit off water to his pots.

Stackers and Shakers

Fill a container with what every you desire. I've filled mine with various things that make different sounds rice, pasta, cornmeal, bells, beads, fuzzy pom poms, ribbon. Make sure you super glue the lid on tight to prevent anything going into your child's mouth. Cottage cheese or large yogurt containers make perfect "blocks" for stacking. I cut out pictures of magazines and taped them to the container then I covered them with clear packing tape. It adds to some life to the plain white containers.

Wipe Containers and Milk Carton lids, Orange Juice lids

My son has so much fun putting things in and taking them out of these container. I guess it's what Toddler's do best. This is one of our car toys and I can easily add new stuff as we find them. Leaves, sticks and rocks often find their way into the container.

I spy books

Create little I spy books for your child by making a collage of pictures from magazines or from the advertisements in Sunday's paper (this is what I used). If you child has a special love for something try to hide it through out the pages of the book. If you want your book to last cover it in contact paper. This is a great road trip book as your child can find various things as you are driving.

Cardboard boxes

I loved cardboard boxes as a child, the creativity you can have with a simple box is too fun. Occasionally I let me son have the diaper box and he loves getting in and out of it and putting things inside. Once he gets a little older the creativity is limitless of what the box can be used for.

After seeing how much he loved playing with the kitchen at the church nursery I decided to create his own kitchen by using a card board box. I simply covered it with a paper bag. Cut out a door and added a little handle. He now has his own microwave. Rather than buy him a kitchen I simply used a permanent marker and drew a couple burners on a plastic bin that holds all the extra toys that are hiding. Simple, easy and I didn't have to spend any money to make it.

Bubble Wrap

Bubble Wrap is another fun toy for kids, but please closely monitor your kids at all times when playing with bubble wrap. Some favorite things to do with bubble wrap around our house is to walk on it. My toddler loves running across it. If you don't want your child to pop it with their feet tape it to the table and give them a few cars to drive across it.

Balloons

The fun never grows old with balloons. Whether you are playing keep it up, soccer, creating a little static or putting them in front of a fan, you're sure to have a ton of fun. I like to keep a package around the house for rainy days.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

This is definitely comfort food. I haven't made Tator Tot Casserole in years and when I was flipping through the pages of Fix it and Forget it and I saw that this version had green beans I thought it was worth making, and I'm glad I did. Yum.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

I despise spending money on things that we throw away like napkins, paper towels, trash bags. Here are 5 ways our family saves money (or would love to save money) on things we toss.

1.Recycle. Our lack of trash is due to the fact that we recycle. I found a great place here in Wichita that takes about anything: cardboard from packaging, any type of plastic, cans, glass, newspapers, magazines. I've had the best help going here and usually volunteers help you get unloaded in a hurry. Recycling those take some thought and a little space but it's worth it. Here's a picture of my frugal recycling system. I purchased these bags for .50 bags at Walmart. I covered the logo with fabric and then ironed on labels. Simple and easy and they hang on the wall so they don't take up too much space. The smaller size forces me to recycle often.

2. Use Cloth Napkins. Rather than letting my cloth napkins collect dust I decided to pull them out and start using them. I haven't purchased napkins since Christmas and I've only gone through a couple rolls of paper towels. I also try to save any napkins that we didn't use when we get take out or fast food. These make great napkins than can be thrown in you lunchbox or used for messy meals. If you like to sew, it's a breeze making your own. The hardest part is mitering the corners here's a great tutorial on how to make them.

3. Wash plastic utensils. My husband takes his lunch everyday to work and I usually send him with plastic utensils, that I just throw in the dishwasher when he gets home. This stretches the amount I plastic utensils I have to buy and I don't have to worry about our silverware getting misplaced. Once they are broken or cracked I just throw them in with the recycling.

4. Use our plates. There have been a few times over the last year when I have pulled out the paper plates but these times have been few and far between and I still have the same package I purchased last year. Rather than reaching for disposables we choose to use our plates, it doesn't take too much more work to throw them in the dishwasher along with the other dishes we're bound to have. There certainly is a time and place for disposables but we like to use them wisely.

5. Compost. Currently we do not compost, although we would love to. If we would be in one place long enough we would completely do this. We've done this in the past and you'll be surprised how much space rinds, vegetable peels, and eggshells add up. Here's a great website that provides some info on composting. Composting is a wonderful way to save space in your garbage can and will help enrich your soil over time. What a win win money saving solution.

Make sure you print the new Kraft coupons from my coupon tool down below. Today is the last day for the Kraft cheese sale at Dillons, you can use some of these coupons for great deals on cheese that is on sale this week for 1.77 ( kraft singles & shredded cheese).

I went to Dillons yesterday but I'm seriously considering going back for more Kraft singles $1.27 each using the 1.00/2 IP below.

Also I just discovered that you can get another free one day membership to Sam's Club now through May 23rd. This is a great way to stock up and some basics without paying the membership. Check out this site for details.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Congrats to Goal Mom for winning a pair of Twinkle Toe Topichkiis! I can't wait to mail them to you. If I don't hear from Goal Mom in the next 24 hours I'll choose a new winner. Thanks for entering and I do have another giveaway planned in the coming weeks. It's so much fun to give things away.

I hope you had a great Mother's Day, it's such a blessing to be a mom and it is fun to reflect on all the beautiful ways the Lord has richly blessed me thes past 19 months.

Since the temperature is heating up I'm trying to use my crockpot as much as possible. I'm also doing another cooking marathon this week. Hopefully by cooking things in advance will help our house stay a bit cooler, so we won't can get by without turning our air on for a few more weeks.

I don't have anything special planned for breakfast or lunch this week. I'm hoping to pull breakfasts out of the freezer and if I feel up to it I"ll make a batch of pancakes to freeze this week.

Happy Mother's Day to all! I hope you have a great day and feel loved and pampered today.

This will be my final Walgreens post. After praying about it and with the urging of my husband I decided not to reinvent the wheel and to enjoy our family time on the weekends, which means no blogging, other than scheduled posts. There are several great websites for you to check out that post the deals of Walgreens each week and I hope they can bless you as you save your family money at Walgreens. I hope to still alert you to any coupons you might need to print out for Deals at Walgreens.

There aren't too many deals this week but here are the best ones I see:

Kelloggs or Kashi Cereal 3/$10Get $3 in RR wyb 3Use 1.00/1 IP Various Kelloggs IPs using toolbar on the bottom of this site Use 1.50/2 IP Kashi or 1.00/1 IP Kashi found on bottom of this site.Total= $1.34 Kelloggs/Kashi

Friday, May 8, 2009

Does your family enjoy going to festivals or theme parks? They can be great family events but often the price of admission takes a heavy dent out of your wallet, not to mention all the games, rides your kids are begging you to do. I won’t even go there on the price of food at these places.

So how do you do it on a budget?

Look for the free events before you go. Know what you are planning to do and share this with your kids. If your kids know what is going to take place next they’ll know they don’t have time to stop and buy such and such or ride that really cool looking thing in your path. Clear expectations can help elevate the family stress of all the temptations thrown your way.

Try giving your kids a budget and helping them stick to it. The week before would be a good time for your kids to earn some spending more doing a few out of the ordinary jobs around the house. Let your kids be in charge of their money and their choices, but do counsel along the way.

Try to eat a big meal before you go and if allowed bring in a few snack and water bottles to help fuel you through your day. If you can leave the park, pack a lunch and enjoy a parking lot picnic.

Today is the start of Riverfest and there are loads of fun free family events. Make sure you check out the Riverfest website to help you plan your day, as well as pick up your buttons ahead of time. Kids under 2 are free everyone else will need a button which you can pick up from gobs of places around town for $5. the best part is this button is goof for the entire week worth of events. Now that’s a great day. So go out and support our community.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

My original inspiration for this dish was found in The Best Make Ahead Recipes, but like most things I make I tailored it to our budget and taste buds. My hubby always loves to come home to the smell of Mexican food and right before we sat down to eat he said, I have a feeling this meal is going to make me very happy. I hope you enjoy!

In a small skillet heat oil to a medium temperature add onions and garlic sauté until onions are soft and translucent.

In your crockpot place uncooked chicken on the bottom of the pot. Next dump everything else except the chorizo in. Remove casing from desired amount of chorizo. Crumble chorizo over the top. Use a spoon to stir everything up, leaving the chicken on the bottom. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6. I love easy recipes. When ready to serve shred chicken with a fork, give it a good stir and you are done.

We lucked out because Tuesday was a cold rainy day, but this would be perfect summer recipe served over rice using a slotted spoon. A great easy summer recipe. I served ours topped with a bit of shredded cheese and sour cream.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Remember today is the day you can get a free 8x10 printed at Walgreens. Upload your picture online, choose your Walgreens store and select pick up at Store. Enter the code MOTHER at the checkout and you'll walk away with a nice 8x10 picture at no charge.

Also print coupons for a free KFC Grilled Chicken meal with two sides and a biscuits. The website says you can print up to 4! Awesome, guess what we will be eating on Saturday? Exactly! Today is the last day to print these. Check out Common Cents with Money for more details.

Want a chance at another freebie? Don't forget to enter my giveaway, it's as simple as commenting. Click here to enter.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Since this week's theme for Works for Me Wednesday is frugal edition, I thought I'd share one of the ways we save money on gifts. I make most of them myself. Now before you have visions of cheesy Popsicle sticks held together by mounds of hot glue, let me stop you because you can really make some pretty tasteful homemade gifts. One of my recent creations was this bag. I love the fabric and it makes the perfect diaper bag because of all of the pockets.

A simple google search will yield some creative projects that won't cost you an arm or a leg and are custom tailored to the recipient.

Mother's Day is around the corner, have you thought of what you will do for you mom this year?

Here are some of my favorite mother's day projects I've seen this year. I won't tell you which ones I'm making, but they all are darling and some can even be done by those with less experience in the crafting world!

I'm hoping to spend around $25-$30 this week on groceries, so I took a gander at my pantry and freezer and this is the menu I came up with.

Since I had my Uppercase Living Party I have a ton of breakfast dishes in the freezer. I'm looking forward to pulling from my stash this week. This will be very nice because I'm hoping to jog in the mornings before my toddler wakes up. It will be nice not to have to hurry back and fix something for breakfast, maybe I can even squeeze in a shower?!?!

For lunches we'll either have leftovers or I'll brown some ground beef and add it to something yet to be decided. Last week my toddler was very unsuccessful at eating much meat despite our attempts, I hope this week goes better.

I knew I'd be over for the week since I had to purchase a few abnormal, yet delicous items for my party, so my total for the week for groceries came to $75.66, yikes! I figured I'd be over but was surpised when I added it all up, darn debit card. I did feed several extras for brunch and I have some extras for the freezer. I'll be digging deep in our pantries this week check back on Monday for my meal plan.

Wal-Mart $7.54

Nutella 2.98

Milk Chocolate Chips 2.28

Bananas .83

3 lemons 1.00

Dillons $27.77

Bananas .37

Plain Yogurt .70

4 lb. Strawberries 4.99

Whipping Cream 1.39

4 lb. Oranges 2.99

Soy Sauce 1.00

Garlic .40

2 cans of Tomato Paste .19

2 bags of salad 2.00

Bread 1.00

Frosted Mini Wheats 1.18

Organic Vegetable Shortening 6.99 (ouch)

White Chocolate Chips 2.65

Aldi $32.85

Sweet Onions .49

White Onions .49

3-8 oz. Cheddar Cheese 1.29

8 oz. Mozerella Cheese 1.29

Carrots .00

Chorizo 1.99

Quick Oats 1.79

Graham Crackers 1.29

Frozen OJ 1.29

Lemon Juice 1.25

Frozen Corn .95

Flour Tortillas .99

Spinach 1.49

Sausage 1.99

2 Avacados .49 each

Tomatoes 1.49

3 cartons of Eggs .89

2 packages Unsalted Butter 1.90 each

Walgreens

$14.37 household produts (completed 3 transactions and still have $4 in RR for next week)

Braums $7.50

3 gallons milk & 1 bar of cheese (I used a coupon for $4 off wyb $10 in store products)

For the month I spent $226. 46, I was pretty close to coming in on budget until this week. I'm determined to make up for it this week. To see how others came out this week check out Money Saving Mom.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Tomorrow May 2nd Home Depot will be hosting another Kid's Workshop. Go to Home Depot Saturday any time from 9:00 a.m to noon and your kids can create a wheelbarrow planter for free. What a fun project for dads to do with their children. Mom's don't miss out on the fun too, but I always love it when I see ways for fathers to be involved with their kiddos. Way to go Home Depot!

About Me

I'm so very thankful to be the wife of an amazing man and mom to five sweet boys, three of them I get to physically hold on this earth and our youngest I hold close to my heart. My heart's desire is that my time on this little revolving ball we call earth will glorify the God I serve in the midst of joy and pain. Thanks for taking the time to read a little bit about our life and hear a little from my heart.